It takes a Village! The morning started dark and wet but thanks to all who lent a hand, we got the courts dried and in playing shape by 11a. The slight delay was worth the wait as the Men’s Advanced Doubles was fire!
Of the 18 teams, only 2 walked away with a perfect record, 2 teams finishing with 4 wins and 6 more with 3 wins. Among the undefeated, in the White bracket, Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuch put on a show with their 5 wins, 55 total points and a +37 points differential, besting the #2 team of Jim Bruton and Chris Hildebrandt, with a +33 points differential in the Blue bracket. Coming in at the #3 seed in the Red bracket were the brothers Dave and Steve Keller, finishing with an impressive 4 wins, 53 total points and a +39 points differential.
The next 3 teams were the best of the rest. In at #4 were Wayne Bondy and Tom Musone, with 4 wins, 51 total points and a +26 points differential. Fifth was Mark Montgomery and Chris Armstrong with 3 wins, 48 total points and a +9 points differential. The sixth and final spot went to Rick Stehno and John Buffington, also with 3 wins, 46 total points and a +10 points differential. They beat out the remaining 3 game winners of Jim Williams and Jason Hedden, Rob Schultz and Oliver Sun, Tony Chiravolo and Jim Faggiana, and Keith Buchman and Sean Donnelly with 44, 42, 41, and 40 total points, respectively. Talk about close!
In a change from prior tournaments, we played a single elimination playoff to prove we had the right teams for the Gold, Silver and Bronze. In the game between first and sixth, Kevin and Paul easily handled Rick and John, winning 11-1. In the game between second and fifth, Jim and Chris was able to withstand Mark and Chris, winning 11-4. In the final playoff game between third and fourth, Wayne and Tom gave some early trouble to David and Steve but in the end, the Kellers won it, 11-7, and making it a clean sweep of the #1, #2 and #3 teams to meet in a round robin finals for the medals.
After entering several of these men’s event, David and Steve Keller finally got their Gold at the King Kong Tournaments. They went undefeated in the medal rounds, beating Jim and Chris, 11-9, in a hard fought match, and then Kevin and Paul, 11-5 in a very entertaining final game. Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuck got the Silver by winning, 11-6, over Jim and Chris before facing the Kellers. Bronze goes to Jim Bruton and Chris Hildebrandt, who played brilliantly to get into the finals.
Kongrats to the medalists and all the participants! And thanks again for everyone who came to help to dry the courts and the fans who came to watch. And, of course, let’s not forget my volunteers Di Lampert, Sue and Danny Reich, Miriam Bernstein, and Fred Veenstra. Lastly, special shout out to Ted Kegeris, Chas Popplestone for the use of their Vaptrs and Michael Zuzolo for his court drying rig, couldn’t have made playing happen without them!
Next Up:
– Signups for the Men’s Intermediate Doubles opens Tuesday, May 6 at 8:30p
– No tournament next Sunday, May 11, Mother’s Day
Here is the link to this week’s photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCcTLe
Here is the link to the YT playlist with the replay of the livestream from court 6 and GoPro footage: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLy0MUnaQ-KX-53cuyYUnlPSf1hjH9VGYS
Livestream
- Intro (0:18:27)
- Game 1 (0:21:18): Keith Buchman and Sean Donnelly v John Buffington and Rick Stehno
- Game 2 (39:49): Gary Kray and Richard Hauser v Keith Buchman and Sean Donnelly (was supposed to be Brian Lasky and Mike Kramer v Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuch, Sean messed up!)
- Game 3 (0:59:57): Gary Kray and Richard Hauser v Gary Jones and Spencer Lampert
- Game 4 (1:20:40): Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuch v John Buffington and Rick Stehno (Paul’s diving get off of Rick’s lob 1:28:30)
- Game 5 (1:44:00): Gary Jones and Spencer Lampert v Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuch (Paul split 1:46:27)
- Who’s In? (2:26:06)
- Single Elimination (2:28:45): John Buffington and Rick Stehno (6) v Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuch (1) (another Paul split 2:38:50)
- Medals Round (2:52:11)
- Game 1 (2:52:44): Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuch (1) v Chris Hildebrandt and Jim Bruton (2)
- Game 2 (3:06:01): Steve and David Keller (3) v Chris Hildebrandt and Jim Bruton (2)
- Game 3 (3:23:14): Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuch (1) v Steve and David Keller (3)
- Medals (3:41:50)
GoPro
- Exit the Vapor (0:00:00)
- Game 1 (0:02:52): Tony Chiravolo and Jim Faggiana v Steve and David Keller
- Game 2 (0:15:46): John Shable and Scott Griffith v Jim Williams and Jason Hedden
- Game 3 (0:29:16): Ron Rivas and Alan Knuckles v Mark Montgomery and Chris Armstrong
- Game 4 (0:48:36): Tony Chiravolo and Jim Faggiana v Jim Williams and Jason Hedden
- Game 5 (1:17:56): Jim Williams and Jason Hedden v Ron Rivas and Alan Knuckles
- Single Elimination (1:30:35): Chris Hildebrandt and Jim Bruton (2) v Mark Montgomery and Chris Armstrong (5)
Medals Round Court 6 (opposite corner from livestream)
- Game 1 (1:51:03): Chris Hildebrandt and Jim Bruton (2) v Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuch (1)
- Game 2 (2:03:26): Steve and David Keller (3) v Chris Hildebrandt and Jim Bruton (2)
- Game 3 (2:20:50): Steve and David Keller (3) v Kevin Masiado and Paul Pfankuch (1)